Today, on a beautiful Seahawks Blue Friday in Seattle, it’s all about the number 12.

Unfortunately, I’m not talking about the number of days remaining until the Seahawks kickoff the 2013 regular season on the road against the Carolina Panthers – there’s still 58 of those. Nor am I talking about the number of days remaining until the team’s first preseason game on the road against the San Diego Chargers – there’s still 27 of those. And as close as we are, I’m not even talking about the number of days remaining until the club’s first training camp practice – there’s still 13 of those.

All right, that’s enough 12ing (for now). Let’s get down to what’s in store for the week ahead with your Seattle Seahawks, as together we inch closer and closer to answering the all-too-often-uttered question: Is it football season yet?

Sunday, July 14:

12 Tour Vancouver, B.C. rolls along with a family festival at West Vancouver’s Ambleside Park from 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. Events include a Gatorade Junior Training Camp, a flag football tournament, a Q&A session with defensive end Red Bryant and wide receiver Doug Baldwin, live entertainment, and more

12 Tour Victoria, B.C. – a one day trip featuring wide receiver Doug Baldwin, who will sign autographs from 4-6 p.m. at Jersey City – Mayfair Centre and who will follow that up with an appearance at a season-preview party at 7:30 p.m. at Victoria’s Strathcona Hotel

ProFootballTalk.com will unveil players ranked No. 50-26 on their Top 100 Players countdown

Tuesday, July 16:

There’s not too many Seahawks-related activities going on, but this nugget of knowledge might come in handy for your Tuesday night trivia session: On this date in 1968, Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders is born. Sanders will celebrate his 45th birthday.

The 12 Tour ramps back up again, this time making it’s way to the Tri-Cities (Kennewick, Wash.), where cornerbacks Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman will host a Seahawks fan forum at 6 p.m. at Kennewick’s “The Pub” on Clearwater Ave.

On the Seahawks #12Tour, Doug Baldwin and Red Bryant surprise David Libby of the United States Army at his home in honoring his service and sacrifice as a Wounded Warrior.

Good morning, and here’s what’s “out there” for today, Friday, July 12, about your Seattle Seahawks:

Danny O’Neil of 710Sports.com ranks the Top 5 most significant wins under head coach Pete Carroll. O’Neil’s No. 1 ranked win under Carroll may not be one that your mind would immediately gravitate toward, as he picks the Seahawks’ 22-17 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on November 13, 2011 – Carroll’s second season with the club.

On that game, O’Neil writes: “The significance is apparent only in retrospect. Seattle was 10-16 under Carroll entering this game, including the playoffs. Lynch had rushed for 100 yards in only two of those games and the Seahawks had a total of 19 rushing touchdowns. The Seahawks are 17-9 in all games since, Lynch has rushed for more than 100 yards in 16 games and the Seahawks have 29 rushing touchdowns. Seattle may not have taken off until Wilson was put under center, but the sign of the turnaround can be traced to the midway point of Carroll’s second season.”

Go ahead and add an airplane hangar to the list of venues that Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has managed to fill.

Yesterday, Wilson and team partner Alaska Airlines attracted 605 urban youth from 21 different educational programs across the state of Washington to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where Wilson and Alaska Airlines’ Black Employee Resource Group encouraged students to graduate high school and accomplish their goals.

“You can do and be anything you want if you set a goal, map out a plan and commit to achieve it,” Wilson said at the “Pledge It. Prove It. Take Flight.” event. “You just need to do the work.”

Wilson’s done his fair share of work since entering the League as a third-round draft pick by the Seahawks last season, and he’ll be the first to tell you that he still has plenty of more work to do. But it was Wilson’s road to the NFL that was the focus yesterday – attending high school in Richmond, Va. before earning a bachelors degree in communications in just three years at North Carolina State University, finishing up with one year at the University of Wisconsin before transitioning to life in the NFL.

With Wilson guiding the way, the students on hand pledged to attend school every day, participate in class, complete their assignments and study for exams while promising to work hard and not be afraid to ask for help when they need it.

“Hearing Russell Wilson speak about accomplishing goals and achieving his dreams is tremendously significant for our students,” said Making a Difference in Community (a Tacoma nonprofit that sponsors educational programs for youths throughout Pierce County) director of education L. Denice Randle. “Many young people hear similar messages from their parents and teachers, but having Russell advocate the message of possibility for our students will stay with them for the rest of their lives.”

Following the Wilson-led pledge, students received Seahawks-green bracelets that read “Take Flight 7.10.13″ to commemorate the day, as well as certificates depicting the full pledge they had just took.

“I liked the motivational speech by Russell Wilson, especially hearing about the steps he takes daily to be successful,” said Alfredo Gomez, a student from Tacoma’s Lincoln High School. “I do some of those same things. [Wilson] gets up early every day. I get up at 3 a.m. every day to be the best that I can be.

“To see how those habits have led to success for him makes me feel hopeful for my own future.”

Wide receiver Charly Martin – who spent 2012 in Seattle, catching four passes for 42 yards in four games – has been released from the club, the team announced this afternoon. In Martin’s place, the Seahawks have claimed long snapper Kyle Nelson off of waivers (San Francisco).

Martin’s departure drops the total number of wideouts on the team’s current roster from 14 to 13 – a number that’s likely to be cut in half by the conclusion of training camp.

Nelson, who snapped in six games last season with the San Diego Chargers after signing on as a free agent on November 21, 2012, was released by the club on May 20 and claimed off waivers by San Francisco the following day. Nelson was released by the Niners on July 10.

Outside of San Diego and San Francisco, Nelson has had stints with the Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints – the team he originally signed on with as an undrafted free agent out of New Mexico State during training camp of the 2011 season.

We’re about two weeks away from the start of Seahawks training camp, and Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times has started a 15 days, 15 questions feature – counting down one question each day until the start of camp. In his first entry, Condotta clarifies 2012 first-round draft pick Bruce Irvin’s reported position switch from defensive end to strongside linebacker with comments from head coach Pete Carroll.

In the podcast below, Bob Stelton and Dave Grosby of 710 AM ESPN Seattle’s “Bob and Groz” chat with Seahawks 2013 second-round draft pick running back Christine Michael about his draft process and acclimation to life in the NFL:

Tom Pelissero of USA Today outlines the NFL’s new padding requirements, which mandates all players wear thigh and knee pads. Several wide receivers, cornerbacks and more have chosen not to wear these pads in the past, but choosing to do so this season will not only result in a fine for the player, but NFL referees could also pull that player from the game.

The Seahawks have advanced to Round 3 in NFL.com personality Dave Dameshek’s bracket to determine the greatest uniform in League history. You can cast your vote for the Seahawks’ current digs here, as they square off against the current unis of the New Orleans Saints. Voting for Round 3 ends on Sunday, July 14 at 3 p.m. PT.

The Seahawks’ “Beast Mode” back and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Josh Johnson – Lynch’s cousin – will put on a three-day event in support of their Fam 1st Family Foundation at Oakland Technical High School, where both Lynch and Johnson attended.

The action kicks off on Thursday, July 11 with their second annual talent show for youth ages 4-18 who submitted videos showcasing their skills to Lynch’s foundation. Twelve entries were chosen to participate in Thursday’s live show in front of a panel of celebrity judges. Cash prizes, a scholarship to the Art Institute of San Francisco, autographed jerseys, gift baskets and more will be presented to first-, second-, and third-place finishers. Tickets to Thursday’s event will be sold at the door – $5 for youth ages 5-17 and $10 for ages 18 and up.

On Friday, July 12, Lynch and Johnson will entertain a family bowling night at Albany Bowl in Albany, Calif. Tickets for Friday’s event supporting Lynch’s foundation are $30 in advance and $40 at the door, if available.

The Bay Area celebration culminates on Saturday, July 13, back at Oakland Tech where Lynch and Johnson will put on the seventh annual Fam 1st Family Youth Football Camp. The free camp runs from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and will give 600+ youth the chance to work with professional athletes on their football skills, sportsmanship, teamwork, and how to better themselves off the field. Registration closed off last month, but Lynch’s charity website notes they will be accepting day-of-camp applications.

The Seahawks’ current jerseys (a No. 6 seed) have advanced to the round of 16 in Dave Dameshek’s NFL.com bracket to determine the greatest uniform in NFL history. The club’s current digs toppled the current uniforms of the New York Giants (No. 3) in round two by a final vote count of 74,688 to 35,085 – an achievement that came one round after more than doubling up on the No. 11 seed Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 51,937 to 25,689, to open bracket play.

The Seahawks unis are now matched up against the current unis of the New Orleans Saints in what should be a close battle between two fierce fan bases – Seattle’s 12th Man and New Orleans’ “Who Dat” nation. Voting for Round 3 ends on Sunday, July 14 at 6 p.m. PT.

Good morning, and here’s what’s “out there” for today, Wednesday, July 10, about your Seattle Seahawks:

In anticipation of NFL.com’s feature set to run later today naming the most overrated and underrated players in Seahawks history, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times takes his own stab at guessing who might make their list.

Danny O’Neil of 710Sports.com continues his positional preview series with a look at the loaded Seahawks backfield, and O’Neil also hosted his latest “Hawk Talk” chat yesterday afternoon, the full transcript of which can be found here.

O’Neil and co-host Brock Huard of 710 AM ESPN Seattle’s “Brock and Danny” caught up with former Seahawks quarterback and current Indianapolis Colts signal caller Matt Hasselbeck, who is currently vacationing in Eastern Washington, in the podcast below:

We also have the podcast from O’Neil and Huard’s Seahawks roundtable discussion with ESPN’s John Clayton and NFC West blogger Mike Sando. The foursome talks about what to expect from the club offensively heading into the new season:

NFL.com Around the League writer Marc Sessler ranks the NFL’s Top 8 deepest backfields, and the Seahawks’ quartet of Marshawn Lynch, Robert Turbin, Christine Michael, and Derrick Coleman comes in at No. 2.

“Sorry for the wait,” wide receiver Doug Baldwin notes on his YouTube channel.

No worries. It’s all good, Doug. While it’s been nearly two months since his last installment, what matters now is that Baldwin is back with another episode of the “Fresh Files.”

Baldwin takes this show on the road, first spending time with his family down in his hometown of Gulf Breeze, Florida, where he talks about how he maintains a balance between football and family, as the two are positioned in opposite corners of the United States. Baldwin also pitches some “Fresh Files” advertising opportunities for any of you publicity pros out there.

Later, Baldwin’s younger brother Devon takes over the camera work for Doug, filming his older brother at Marshawn Lynch’s Fam 1st Family Foundation charity golf tournament in Oakland, Calif. The elder Baldwin just can’t quite cut it on the links – as he admits in the video above – and the younger Baldwin is quick to realize he should stop wasting film his brother’s fruitless efforts.